From: Roe (d.roe@t-online.de)
Date: Sun Jan 14 2001 - 09:01:07 EST
I think Dan Hubbell raised a very interesting question:
>In studying the greek word EKKLHSIA, I was wondering if anyone has a
>thought or discernment about why Jesus may have chosen this particilar
>word rather than other existing Hebrew or Greek words for assembly,
>congregation, synagogue, temple, etc.
Harold Holmyard responded:
> This was a word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the LXX
> or Septuagint), which was commonly used by the Jews as the Bible at the
> time of Jesus. There is was the Greek translation for the Hebrew word
> "assembly," and it referred to the congregation of God's people, Israel.
>
> It was natural for Jesus to transfer this word to the Church, God's new
> congregation.
I agree with Harold's response, which addresses the appropriateness of
EKKLHSIA's use. Still, the question remains why it was chosen over the
alternative word, SUNAGWGH.
There are two Hebrew words from which SUNAGWGH is translated in the LXX:
"qahal" (from which EKKLHSIA is translated) and "eda" -- and there are
passages suggesting their synonymity, with Prov. 5:14 perhaps
challenging this: EN MESWi EKKLHSIAS (qahal) KAI SUNAGWGHS (eda).
While I find qahal translated EKKLHSIA 68 times, I see it also
translated SUNAGWGH 34 times. Interestingly, qahal is never translated
EKKLHSIA until Deuteronomy. Of the 18 times qahal is translated in
Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, it is always translated SUNAGWGH. The
translator of Deuteronomy, on the other hand, translated qahal 7 times
EKKLHSIA and only one time SUNAGWGH, with reference there to the
assembly in Exodus (Deut. 5:22 - ELALHSEN KURIOS PROS PASAN SUNAGWGHN
hUMWN). And eda, which does not at all appear in Deuteronomy, is always
translated SUNAGWGH (I found 100 occurences in Exodus, Leviticus and
Numbers).
Further, in 1 and 2 Chronicles, qahal is translated 30 times EKKLHSIA,
and not once SUNAGWGH (and eda is found only once). In Ezekiel, qahal is
translated 8 times SUNAGWGH, and not once EKKLHSIA. Qahal and eda
generally appear to be synonymous. In Num. 16:3, both are translated
SUNAGWGH.
More relevant to B-Greek, EKKLHSIA and SUNAGWGH appear to me also to be
generally used synonymously in the LXX. For example, "qahal YHWH" is
translated SUNAGWGHN KURIOU in Num. 20:4, and EKKLHSIAN KURIOU in Deut.
23:2.
So my question is whether we can assume that there was no definitive
difference in usage at the time of the translation of the LXX, and that
a distinction arose later, where we see SUNAGWGH referring to a worship
assembly.
Another off-topic musing is that it seems that Jesus must have said
qahal in Matthew 16 and 18, and not eda, which -- while apparently
having some synonymity with qahal -- was never (in the OT) translated
EKKLHSIA. Or perhaps Matthew would have had reason to translate eda to
EKKLHSIA...?
David
D.W. Roe
Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
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